Little Wonders
by ghmari
Summary: Burke and Cristina meet again!
1. Chapter 1

Little Wonders

She clutched the small child in her arms as she rushed through the emergency room, "I need some help!" she cried out placing the small child on the empty gurney.

"She's seven, she feel off her horse and hit her head." she said barely catching her breath. The nurse came rushing to her side and started to exam the child. "I think she may have broken her arm, she said she couldn't move it."

He had been checking on his patient when he heard the familiar voice, the voice that he hadn't heard in a very long time. The voice he had terribly missed. Taking a deep breath he finally turned around to where the voice was and his breath caught in this throat.

It was her.

He immediately noticed her curls were softer and she had aged a bit. But she was still as beautiful as he remembered her. His eyes quickly shifted to the child whose hand she was tightly grasping.

The little girl had her mother's wild curls. The women he loved had become a mother and even though he couldn't see her hand he figured she was married. She was too beautiful not to be married.

He wasn't sure if he should say anything. She obviously had a family. But he knew he'd spend the rest of his life regretting walking away from her again

"Cristina?" he wasn't sure he'd had said it out loud and he was about to say her name again when she finally looked up at him.

The shock on her face was evident. Before she was able to fully grasp that in front of her was Preston Burke the man that had left her nine years ago. The nurse brought her attention back to her daughter who was hurt.

"She's going to need an X-Ray and a MRI." The nurse said as she started to pull the gurney away.

Walking along the gurney she finally pulled her eyes away from him. She had to concentrate on her daughter.

He let out a sigh. This is not how he imagined seeing her again. But he wasn't going to let it stop him from trying to get her back.

Because they belonged together. And he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

A/N: New story! This one is going to be a short one. Sorry this chapter is soo short, I just wanted to get it started. Tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

He had been avoiding the section of the hospital he knew she'd be at. After a while his nerves had got the better of him and he decided that it wasn't a good idea for them to see each other again. She had a family and he wasn't going to ruin that for her.

Pushing his doubts away he went to the supply closet and grabbed an extra pillow and blanket and headed towards to the room number that he saw in the patient's chart when he accidentally bumped into the nurse. He turned to the hallway where the room was and there she was standing just outside of the room making a phone call.

'Hi" he said nervously, they hadn't spoken to each other since he left her nine years ago.

"Hi" she said tiredly. "Umm you work here?" she asked not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, I'm chief of surgery…. Is your daughter okay?"

"Yeah she's going to be fine, they're just want to keep her overnight to make sure." She said turning to look at the closed door where her daughter was sleeping soundly.

"That's good, I'm glad she's okay." He paused before he continued not knowing whether she'd want to hear the part he wanted to say. "She's beautiful just like her mother."

When the air filled with awkward silence he handed her the pillow and blanket. "I brought this for you. I figured you'd be spending the night so I thought it might make you more comfortable."

Before she got a chance to respond, a man came in between them. "Hey where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She just broke her arm but she's fine."

"Where is she?" breathing a sigh of relief he asked again.

"She's in there sleeping." Cristina said pointing to the room behind her. The man concerned for the little girl pushed passed Cristina and went into the room.

"I better go" Cristina said turning back to Burke. "Thanks for the extra pillow and blanket"

He watched her walk back into the room and through the small mirror of the door he saw the man wrap his arms tightly around the love of his life.

Before he left the hospital to an empty apartment he passed by the hospital room where she was. Cristina was lying in the bed next to her daughter and the man was watching them sleep. Somebody else loved her now.

He had lost her.

A/N: this one may not be happily ever after.


	3. Chapter 3

He look tried, he had aged every year that had passed. She had hoped that after he left, he would have found happiness, that's how she was able to move on. As long as he was happy she'd be able to move on with her life.

She slowly approached his office, she might not ever get to see him again and she wanted to say goodbye. She figured the easiest way to do that is to leave him a letter. When she got to his office the door was slightly open and she could see a light was on.

He was looking at something when she opened the door, it looked like a picture, he was so engrossed in looking at a picture that he didn't hear her enter. When he finally noticed her creep closer he quickly hid the picture.

"Hi" she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt I didn't think you'd be here"

"That's okay….I have an early surgery, just going over some notes." He said standing and motioning her to sit. "Is your daughter okay?"

"Yeah, she's still sleeping. She's going to be released today. umm I wasn't sure if I'd get to see you again and I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye."

"You going back home?" he asked trying to figure out where home was for her. He knew she no longer lived in Seattle.

"No…not yet. We'll be here in Mississippi for the rest of the week. But hopefully we won't have to make anymore hospital stops."

"You used to love being at the hospital."

"I still do, just not when my daughters the patient."

"I'm glad she's okay. Your husband seemed very worried about her." He didn't see the ring but she once told him she 'didn't do rings' so there was still a possibility they were married.

"Yeah he's glad she's okay too." She knew what he was really asking but decided not to answer.

Shaking his head he picked up her hand and his fingers brushed over her ring finger. There was an indentation where a ring had been. "Are you married?" he asked not sure if he was ready to hear the answer, he just wanted to continue to hold her hand.

"We're married." She said with a deep breath. "But we're in the process of a divorce."

"Oh…Are you happy?" he asked. As much as he wanted her, he wanted her to be happy more. That's why he left nine years ago and why he stooped looking for her when he realized that he lost the best thing that ever happened to him.

"Yeah…I have this amazing little girl and she makes everything not seem so bad." She griped his hand that what in hers tighter. "Are you happy?"

"I was happy." He said. She drove him absolutely insane but she made him happier then he ever thought possible.

"Burke, I want you to be happy! It's been almost ten years."

"I miss you, I miss us!"

"Burke, we're different people now. You should move on. Find someone who makes you happy"

"Can I see you again?" he asked. He didn't want to think about moving on. He just wanted to concentrate on the fact that she was there with him.

"I don't think that's a good idea Burke." She said slipping her hand away from his.

"Just for some coffee."

"I can't. I promised my daughter I wouldn't leave her alone with her father's family."

"She can come too." Burke added smiling. Her daughter obviously had her mother's personality traits.

"And what exactly am I supposed to tell her, or my husband for that matter. 'We're going out with mommies ex'."

"I can be just a friend."

"Burke"

"Don't say no." Grabbing a pen and paper from his desk he wrote a number down and handed it to her. "Call me and we'll meet."

Before she could say no again, he grabbed her hand and led her towards the door. "You should go check on your daughter, she's probably awake already." He was sure she'd call.

A/N: Happy Holidays everyone.


	4. Chapter 4

Lying in bed she stared at her coat that was hanging across the room. On a crumbled piece of paper in her pocket was his number. She couldn't call him, it wouldn't be right. She was still married and she didn't need him to get the wrong idea. She wasn't going to call but for some reason she still hadn't throw away his number. Her eyes were torn away from the coat when the bedroom door opened. She watched her husband grab a suitcase and start to pack his clothes.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Business!" He responded. "There's a huge problem with a client and I have to go fix it."

"You're not leaving us alone here with your family." She said moving off the bed.

"Come on Cristina, I'll only be gone for two days and then we can finish our vacation. My family doesn't mind you staying here."

"And what exactly am I and your daughter supposed to do for two days while you're gone?" she asked following him out the door and down the stairs.

"You can do whatever you want." Pulling out keys from his pocket he handed them to her. "Here I'm leaving you the car. Just try to stay out of trouble!" After placing a kiss on her lips he was out the door.

She looked around the big mansion that her in-laws called home. She hated this it reminded her too much of her childhood. For a brief second she planned on packing her bags and taking her daughter home. Then she remembered the number. Making her way quickly up the stairs she pulled the paper from her pocket.

She slowly dialed the number and almost hung up when she when she heard the first ring. When she heard the second ring took a deep breath to clam her nerves. On the third ring she told herself that she was just calling a friend and it was silly to be nervous. When the fourth ring came she sighed, he wasn't going to answer. When she heard his voice mail she clicked her phone shut and threw it to the side of the bed. Maybe it was for the best she thought as she laid back down, but she still could help but feel a little disappointed.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her cell phone ringing next to her. On her caller id was the same numbers she dialed not so long ago, taking a deep breathe she debated whether or not she should answer it. She had an opportunity to avoid the call to avoid him.

She slowly laid the phone back on the bed. A second later it stopped ringing. Picking her phone back up she was curious to see if her had left a message. When she flipped her phone open to call her voice mail she was greeted by a voice.

"Hello…..Hello…Cristina?"

It was Burke. Wide-eyed Cristina swallowed her pride, realizing that he had called back and before the phone got a chance to ring again she had answered the call. "Hi!" she whispered into the phone. "Yeah it's me."

"Sorry I missed your call. I had someone in my office. When I saw the number I figured it was you since it was a different area code. So I'm calling back"

"Umm yea I had some free time and since you offered coffee…but you're busy and I totally understand." She said in a hurried voice.

Burke laughed at the other end of the line, he could tell she was nervous. "Actually I just finished my last surgery and can be out of here by noon."

"Umm…noon. Yeah that sounds good. Okay I'll see you then"

"Cristina?" Burke said quickly before she could hang up.

"Yeah"

"Where should we meet? When I asked you out to coffee, I didn't mean from the hospital coffee cart."

"Umm right…Any suggestions? I'm not too familiar with Mississippi's coffee shops."

"Well we can meet at the hospital and then you can follow me to one of my favorite coffee shops." He suggested figuring she might know the streets.

"Okay. I'll see you then."

"I'll see you then." He said smiling as he hung up the phone.

A/N: Have a great and safe New Year!


	5. Chapter 5

"Mom, where are we going?" the little girl asked as she put on her coat.

"I thought we could go get some hot coco with someone I used to work with. Then we can go anywhere you want after that! How does that sound?"

"I don't know, daddy said that I can't go riding till I get better."

"I know baby! But we do something else if you'd like."

"When's daddy coming back?"

"Tomorrow night! Where did your grandmother go?"

"She went shopping!"

"That means we have all day." Cristina said mockingly making the little girl giggle.

…………………………………………….

"Mom I don't need more shots right?" the little girl asked as they entered the hospital.

'No baby, Mom's friend is a doctor. He's chief of surgery."

"That's awesome!" the small child exclaimed.

When they reached his office his secretary informed them that Burke was called into emergency surgery. "Oh okay!" she said, "Do you know if he'll be done soon?"

"He has less then an hour left. Would you like to leave a message?"

"Sure. Just tell him that Cristina stopped by an…"

"Dr. Cristina Yang? The little old lady exclaimed.

"Yes."

"Oh, Dr. Burke asked if you could wait for him in the gallery. He seemed pretty excited about you coming."

"Umm okay I guess we can wait for a while. Can you point me in the direction of the gallery?"

"Of course Dr. Yang." She led them to the gallery where Burke was finishing up his valve replacement.

"Mom your name isn't Yang anymore."

"I know but that was my name when I worked with Dr. Burke. Do you want to stay and watch a valve replacement?"

"Sure I like those."

"Which one is Dr. Burke?" the little girl asked.

"He was my boss when I was an intern." Cristina said as she pointed him out.

He let one of his residents finish up and went to meet them in the lobby.

Hey…Thanks for waiting!" Burke exclaimed as he approached them wearing street clothes.

"Hi" Cristina said standing. "Burke I'd like to meet my daughter Melanie. Mel this is Dr. Burke"

The small child stood on the chair and extended her hand to Burke. "Very nice to meet you Dr Burke."

Burke shook her hand in amazement she was a very smart little girl. "Nice to meet you too. But you know you look like a princess and princess get to call me Preston."

"My daddy calls me a princess but he says I gotta call adults by their last names."

"See I was right you are a princess. You know we can be friends and you call your friends by their first name right? The small child still looked unsure. "Why don't we ask your mama?"

"Yeah baby you can call him Preston." She turned to Burke. "We should probably get going."

"I was thinking since I made you guys wait. I'd take you to a late lunch." Burke said facing Cristina.

"You don't have to do that." Cristina answered. Burke knew Cristina well enough to know she'd resist so he turned to the small child who probably had a better chance at changing her mind.

"What do you think princess? Some lunch and afterwards anything you want for dessert, how does that sound?"

The curly head little girl's big brown eyes went from Burke to her mother. "Fine we can go." Cristina answered. Ignoring the fact that he used her daughter to get her to do what he wanted

Burke smiled. "You know that look she gave, that's your look." Burke said in a low voice as they walked out of the hospital. He let out a laugh when she rolled her eyes.

He had missed her and he was glad that she was back in his life. He couldn't wait to get to know more about this amazing little girl who was just like her mother.

A/N: Had trouble getting this chapter out but I hope you like it. Read and Review!


	6. Chapter 6

He had wanted to drive her but she insisted that they go in separate cars. He kept a close watch on her car as she followed him to the restaurant making sure that she was still there. They were seated in the corner booth of the small restaurant. No words were spoken as they sat down and the waitress handed them menus.

"Babe what do you want order?" Cristina asked lifting the kid's menu to her daughter's attention for the child to pick.

"French Fries!" the small child answered without looking up from her coloring book the waitress gave her.

"Do you want a hamburger or a sandwich with your French fries."

"That one" Melanie said as she looked at the menu.

Burke did his best to hide his smile. She had her mothers eating habits. Watching her as a mother was better then he could ever imagine. After they placed their order his eyes shifted from Cristina to Melanie. "How's your arm doing princess?" he asked.

"Is hurts a little. But mom said I can let my friends sign my cast." She said concentrating on her coloring.

"That sounds cool." Burke said enthusiastically. "What kinds of things do you like?" he asked.

"Horses! I like riding horses."

"You look too small to be riding horses."

"Mommy said I'm big enough I just gotta to be careful."

His gaze shifted back to Cristina who was doing her best not to make eye contact. He had so many things he wanted to ask her but it all seemed too inappropriate in front of her daughter. "So what are you guys planning to do the rest of your trip here?"

"Umm I'm not sure. My mother-in-law wants to take us shopping that is if she doesn't buy out the stores today. And if Stephen doesn't comeback tomorrow night we're going to be heading home."

"Where's home?"

"Oregon. I couldn't stay away form the rain."

"Do you still keep in touch with your friends from Settle Grace?" he asked. The only thing he knew was that Richard had retired six years ago and Sloan had become chief after Derek had went back to New York.

"Not everyone, mostly Meredith and I trade emails with Bailey, Callie and Alex."

"You?"

"No not really I've kept busy with work. I had lunch with Derek when he took time off after everything happened between him and Meredith."

After being married to Derek for only four months Meredith had started having an affair with Mark. So when Derek found out that the child Meredith was carrying wasn't his, he filed for divorce and headed back to New York. "Yeah that was crazy. Settle Grace turned into a bad soap opera."

"I'm surprised they had time to treat any patients." Burke joked.

"So how is it being Chief of Surgery?" Cristina asked wanting to stay on neutral topics.

"Umm good. It keeps me busy." Becoming Chief of surgery was his dream it was why he worked so hard. But when he finally accomplished his dream he had no one to share it with Which made it less satisfying.

"Just good? I can't wait till I become chief!"

"Well it's not everything. I need more." His eyes shifted from her to her daughter back to her.

"So why Mississippi?" she asked changing the subject when she understood what he meant.

"I was in Alabama for a while but then my mother kept setting me up on dates and so I moved here. I wanted to be close to home but not too close. And there happened to be a chief position open here."

Cristina smirked she wasn't surprised that his mother tried to marry him off. It was uncomfortable talking about marriage with him considering everything they went through so she didn't reply. Even though she was curious about why he hadn't gotten married and had kids. She knew that it was one of his biggest dreams.

"So why are you here with your ex husband?" he asked she never wanted to spend the day with him when they were dating.

"Well first of all he's not my ex yet. Second he promised her a horse and she begged me for about a week so we could pick him out. And we came before I won't be able to travel."

He was about to ask what she meant by that when the waitress interrupted them and placed their food in front of them. There was this clam silence during lunch which was only broken when Burke asked Melanie questions and she'd answer. When Melanie had stopped eating Cristina suggested that they should be leaving.

"I promised Melanie some dessert. I'm sure you can stay a while longer."

"Please Mommy!" Melanie pleaded.

"Okay but don't take too long. We can go visit Freddy and you can feed him dinner." Cristina said causing Melanie's eyes to sparkle.

"Who Freddy?" Burke asked.

"My pony daddy bought me." Melanie answered. "Wanna meet him Dr. Burke?"

"I'd love to meet your pony if your momma says it okay." Turning to Cristina. "What do you think momma?"

"I think you're a little to old to be calling ME momma." Cristina said annoyed. "I'm sure you have something better to do."

"Nope. Nothing I'm free."

"I made this for you." Melanie interrupting by handing Burke the picture she had been coloring.

"It's beautiful, princess." Burke said taking the picture. "I'm going to hang this up in my office for everyone to see."

A/N: Sorry this took me sooo long! Hopefully only one more chapter left!


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you mad I came?" Burke asked as they walked towards the stable. Melanie had run into the stables as soon as the car had stopped.

"Should I be mad?"

He sighed she was back to being the Cristina he first met. "I just wanted to spend more time with you and your daughter."

"Why?" she angrily asked. 

"So you are mad at me. He let out a sigh. " You want to know WHY…Because I missed you and you have the most adorable daughter I have ever met. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"You shouldn't miss me. I'm married. Nothing is ever going to change between us."

They were finally talking about the dark cloud looming over them.

"I'm so sorry for what I did. For how I destroyed everything we had."

"Stop being sorry. Sorry doesn't change anything."

"I know sorry doesn't change anything. But it doesn't stop me for regretting how things ended. You have every right to be mad at me but.." 

"I'm not mad at you. What happened between us was a long time ago and it doesn't matter anymore." Looking towards the stables she continued. "Mel kept talking about how much she liked you in the car and it just freaked me out. I know what you thought when you first saw her."

He looked down feeling guilty, "She should have been ours. That's what I thought when I first saw her. When I imagined our kids they always had your hair and she has your hair. And I just couldn't stop my mind from going there."

"Come and meet Freddy Dr. Burke. Come on Mom, hurry." Mel called from the fence of the stable. 

Walking towards her daughter. "You still coming?" she asked. 

"Yeah, for a while. I promised." 

They spent an hour feeding and brushing Freddy. Melanie kept talking Burke's ear off. She told him all about school and her friends. Well Mel started asking if she could ride Freddy, Cristina decided that it was time to leave. "I'll walk you to your car. Come on Princess." Burke said picking her up and started to walk towards the car. "I had fun spending the day with you."

"I had fun too Dr. Burke." Melanie said she placed her head on his shoulder and started to fall asleep, Burke help Cristina put her in the car. 

"Is there anyway we can talk again." Burke said hoping that this wasn't the last time they see each other. They may not be able to reconcile but he'd settle for hearing her voice every once in a while. 

"I'm Pregnant" she whispered. She wasn't supposed to say that but he had to know that they were never going to be together.

"Oh…Congratulations."� he said in a low voice. None of this made sense she was supposed to be getting a divorce. "Does he take care of you?" Burke asked lightly touching her stomach. She wasn't showing but he felt compelled to touch her. It reminded him of the baby they lost.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me!" she stated annoyed. She was never going to be that girl who needed to be taken care of.

"I know that, but a husband should take care of his wife. No matter what."

"He's a great father and he does his best to be there but it is never that easy."

"Why isn't he here now?"

"Work. He works a lot." she let out a small laugh. "I'd always thought I'd be the workaholic."

"What does he do?" Burke asked.

"Do you really want to talk about my husband?"

"Kind of, I want to know how he did it."

"How he did what?" Cristina asked puzzled.

"How he got everything I wanted with you."

She let out a deep sigh it was his fault he didn't have it. "We met at the hospital, he was representing the hospital in a lawsuit. He's a lawyer. He was nice but I really wasn't interested at first. Then he finally wore me down and I went out with him. It was soo different from you and me. He didn't move too fast or want to talk things to death. It was kinda nice. Then before I knew it I was pregnant with Mel. She was a surprise, we didn't plan her, we never had even talked about kids. When I found out I didn't tell him, he found out he found my�prenatal vitamins. He asked me to marry him and I said no partly because I didn't want to get married because I was knocked up and partly because I still wasn't ready. He was disappointed when I said no but he didn't get mad or anything. Then a couple of years after Mel was born, he surprised us�by driving to the�courthouse. There was Meredith and a friend of his and he said that we belong together and if we didn't get married today that everyday he'd drive us to the courthouse till I said yes. And so we got married. Things were fine at first but after a while we stopped seeing each other and I found out he was having an affair. The day after I moved out I found out I was pregnant. I'm waiting for him to sign the divorce papers, he still wants to try to work things out though."

"Do you still love him?"

"Burke."

"I just want to know."

"I love him. He's a great father and he'll always be apart of my life. I just never was in love with him."

That was all Burke needed to hear. He placed his lips on hers and kissed her hard it had been far too long since he tasted her. She hesitated only for a second before she slightly parted her lips letting his tongue enter her mouth. The kiss turned passionate, Cristina let out a low moan when Burke gently�griped her hair and�pushed her body with his against the car. He didn't want to let her go; he never wanted to stop kissing her.

When they both finally need air there lips broke apart but their arms stayed wrapped around each other. "I should go." Cristina barely let out. Because they were still so close their lips touched with every word she spoke. "As long I can go with you." Burke responded between placing kisses on her lips. 

"What?" Cristina said pushing him away finally putting some distance between them.

"Nothing." Burke quickly responded taking note of the shock look on her face. He didn't want them to leave on bad terms. "I just...I thought maybe I...Can I call you sometime?"

"You said that you wanted to 'come with me'." She wanted to hear more. To know what he really wanted.

"I just I have to see you again. And to see you everyday would be more then I deserve. But I know you're not ready to forgive me so I'll settle to just hearing your voice and knowing how you're doing." Burke explained to her hoping that she'd be willing to take a step.

"I..I ..I don't know. I just don't know." She had forgotten what this felt like, the way he was looking into her eyes, telling her he loved her without saying a word. He'd been the only person who could make her feel like a complete girl. 

"I don't want to push you. For right now I'd settle for just knowing that I'd get to see you again."

With tears in glistening in her eyes she slowly nodded her head. "okay..." before she could continue his lips were back on her.�Burke was only going to let her concentrate on moving forward. �

A/N: That's the end. Hope you liked it. Thanks for reading and reviewing. 


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